Will a baby associate mom with food when breastfed?

Everytime my wife holds the baby she wants to eat. Is this coincidence, or are we supporting some associative behavior? Asked by derekgb256 60 months ago Similar questions: baby associate mom food breastfed Family.

Similar questions: baby associate mom food breastfed.

The baby is not associating mom with food but with comfort and bonding, which is perfectly healthy. Odds are that your baby is constantly rooting (trying to nurse) when held by your wife simply because she associates nursing with comfort--a breastfeeding infant is not capable of thinking about "food" objectively in that manner, but is rather associating a particular feeling of comfort with being held and nursed by her mother. This is absolutely normal.In fact, odds are that your wife would find that if she let the baby nurse, the baby would not, in fact, continue eating continually, but might just suck intermittently.

If anything, this is a healthier way to let the baby soothe herself (and a lot easier to discontinue later on, since it will happen automatically in conjunction with weaning) than a rubber "soother" or "pacifier". As a specific example, I can tell you that my sister, who breastfed her daughters until they were over a year old, deliberately let them have the breast whenever they started looking for it. Far from "spoiling" them (you cannot "spoil" an infant, who is acting solely out of biological imperative), they never "overate" but rather regulated themselves naturally, and although they often "nursed" (sucking only intermittently, not eating as much as just reassuring themselves that mom was right there and available) to soothe themselves, this behavior went away as soon as they were weaned, since they associated the two with each other, and simply developed other strategies to soothe themselves later on.

I hope this eases your mind a little. Really, rest assured that this kind of bonding can only ever be a good thing. :-) Sources: My experience/opinion .

Your Baby is just being a Baby Your baby associates your wife with Her every need, food, comfort, love and caring. You are not supporting some associative behavior. What Is the Father’s Role in the Breastfeeding Relationship?

It is a fortunate baby that has a close, loving relationship with both of his parents! Babies need lots of physical contact, and when not breastfeeding, a father’s loving arms are a wonderful place for his baby to be. "Fathers need to spend time with their babies in order to get to know them better and get ’tuned in’ to their needs.

Watch for cues that baby is ready for some fathering interaction. A hungry baby won’t be at all interested in playing. But once baby has nursed his fill, dad can take over..." Even the baby that breastfeeds very frequently can enjoy a satisfying relationship with his father.

Try letting your full breastfed baby lie on her father’s chest. Rocking baby on the father’s shoulder is often a favorite activity. Many fathers find rewarding times with baby by showing the baby this big, wide world we live in!

The support of a baby’s father can help the breastfeeding relationship succeed. The father can head off discouragement, deflect negative comments from friends and relatives, help calm a fussy baby and bring the new mother food and drink while she is breastfeeding. Most importantly the baby’s father can remind the new mother that breastfeeding is one of the most important things she can do to get their baby off to a good start in life.

Especially in the first few weeks, when lack of sleep and hormonal changes can sometimes make new mothers waver in their determination to breastfeed, a father who suggests, "let’s try that one more time," or who reminds his partner that, "they say babies space out their feedings after the three week growth spurt," can be invaluable. A father who brings pillows for help in positioning a newborn or who brings a telephone so that the mother can call a La Leche League Leader is truly helping to feed his child! Sometimes a father can become discouraged if he feels that no one else he knows is breastfeeding or going through his family’s current parenting dilemma.

If the local La Leche League Group offers couples meetings, they are a great way to get to know other fathers with similar parenting styles, and to find out how others deal with parental challenges. LLL Area Conferences, usually held once a year or every other year, are very helpful for fathers. They can see and be with many other fathers whose families have made similar parenting choices, and there are often special conference sessions just for fathers.

Contacting an LLL Leader or attending a meeting may help. To find a Group near you, call 1-800-LALECHE, look at our LLL Web Page Index, or follow the hints in our page on finding a local LLL Leader. If you are unable to find a local Group, you may consider attending one of our online LLL meetings.

Sources: http://www.lalecheleague.org life .

Yes, it's instinct Be it human babies, kittens, puppies..they all look to the mother for food. It's just plain instinct/survival.

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I'm watching a 3 month old, breastfed baby. Should he be able to go 3 hours between bottle feedings of 3 to 4 ounces?

My breastfed baby refuses taking a bottle. How can I make him take a bottle once I'm at work?

My 2 month old baby poops more than 7 times a day, he's breastfed and given formula. Should I worry?

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.